


We

by foggyforests



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Abortion, F/M, Implied/Referenced Abortion, Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:28:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26074174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foggyforests/pseuds/foggyforests
Summary: Nancy thought if she ignored her current reality hard enough, all would be well. Except there is no ignoring pregnancy, is there?
Relationships: Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler
Kudos: 16





	We

**Author's Note:**

> For context, this is set after the first season

Plastic rattled softly against porcelain as Nancy placed the test down on the toilet cistern with numbly-shaking fingers. 

Two minutes. Two minutes that were going to feel like an eternity. Two minutes of no-man’s-land that stood between a time when pregnancy was just an incredibly vague, distant teenage worry and a time when it would either remain that way or became a stabbing reality.

She didn’t know if it would have been easier if her partner in this potentially life-changing tango had been someone else. Someone different. Someone that  _ wasn't _ Steve Harrington.

It started simply enough. Just two kids who thought they were in love- and so they did what they thought in love people did. They had sex. 

That night- the night Nancy had lost her virginity- seemed so long ago. Given everything that's happened, she hadn't really had time to think about what she and Steve had gotten up to. 

Now, with her world completely turned up on its head, it hadn’t even crossed her mind that her period was two weeks late. She'd been too busy losing sleep over those  _ things _ and over the fact her best friend was dead to think about the last time she'd gotten her period. 

It wasn’t until she’d been rooting through the bathroom cupboard in an attempt to find a much needed, hopefully relaxing face mask that she’s seen the nearly full box of tampons and realized her total oversight.

A sharp, stinging panic had exploded through her body, making her breath come in short gasps and her knees to give way beneath her. 

* * *

What had followed next was a week of dithering, of hoping against hope she’d start getting cramps. She, somehow, managed to convince herself that it was possible this was all just stress-related. She'd heard about girls missing periods from stress- so maybe this was that? It wouldn't be a totally unjust thought, either. Nancy hadn't been so stressed- so panicked in her entire life.

If Steve had noticed she was acting differently, he said nothing. What was there to say? He couldn't find the right words to string his thoughts in a way that didn't sound accusing. "Hey- I know you and I just sort of had our whole lives turned upside-down when that fucking  _ creature _ came through the Byer's ceiling, but are you okay?" Obviously she wasn't okay. Nothing was okay. And so he didn't say anything.

But inevitably, there came a time when she had to bite the bullet and find out for sure.

That was how she came to be sat on the edge of the bath, refusing to look at the little plastic stick, which sat on top the toilet, until she'd counted to 120. The wait was impossibly tense. She willed the numbers to tick away faster, but they seemed to be slowing down just to spite her. 

Tension clung like plaster to her muscles, her lungs felt like they couldn’t expand properly unless she wanted to risk shattering her ribs, and she could hear the blood pounding in the back of her head.

Then, after what felt like far too long - but simultaneously far too short - a time, she realized she'd hit 120. 

She still didn't look up. Not yet. She kept her feet firmly pressed to the cold tile below. This was it.

Quick as a flash, she darted her arm out and snatched up the pregnancy test, holding it tightly in her hand, then before she could talk herself out of it, she looked down at the tiny window that held within it her fate.

Two pink lines- one far fainter than the other. Pregnant. Well, there was no arguing with that, was there?

A strange sense of calm settled over her as she slipped the test into her back pocket and unlocked the bathroom door. 

She was pregnant. 

Her, Nancy Wheeler, was pregnant with her boyfriend's child. A slightly hysterical laughed burst from her chest as she shut her bedroom door behind her, which quickly dissolved into barely stifled, gut-wrenching sobs. 

She slid down the door until she crumpled into a heap on the floor and felt the flimsy test snap in her pocket when she landed on it.

Her life as she knew it was over.

What the  _ fuck _ was she going to do? Her head began to spin as hyperventilation got into full swing and her intestines felt as though they'd been replaced with black, oiled eel.

The two options that lay before her seemed equally daunting; have the baby or have an abortion. She couldn’t see herself doing either of those things. She’d just rather none of it was happening at all.

Then another horrifying thought popped into her head, one that seemed even scarier than either of those prospects; she was going to have a tell Steve. 

Nancy's anxiety ramped up another couple of notches as she lay herself down on the floor, letting the rough carpet scratch against her wet cheek. There’d be no hiding it from him now, she wasn’t that good of a liar. Well... There was no time like the present.

Before she could think too hard about the consequences, Nancy dragged herself upright, wiped away her tears on her pastel-pink sleeve and exited her room.

Thankfully the house was quiet. 

Mike was out with his friends, and her mother and father were pretending to enjoy a date night in some fancy restaurant.

A couple of weeks ago, Nancy would have relished this opportunity to spend some time with Steve... But now he was the last person she wanted to see.

She wanted to call him in the kitchen... And so she did. Dialing his number, she felt her heart pulse in the back of her throat as she waited for him to pick up. It was Saturday, so she knew he wouldn't be busy.

"Hello?"

Nancy cleared her throat nervously.

“Ahem… Erm, Steve?” 

“Hey, Nance." Nancy could hear the smile in his voice- all lovely and gentle.

“I need you to come over. It's important.” Nancy said, cringing at the tremor in her voice. So much for trying to sound normal. 

Clearly, Steve picked up on her unusual lack of confidence. "Oh...? Is something wrong? Are you o-"

"Steve! Just please come over!" Nancy snapped, immediately hanging up. She mentally kicked herself- knowing Steve would probably be worried sick as he drove over. Thin hands went to her hair as she attempted a deep breath. She wanted to scream. Cry. Punch. 

It only took five minutes for Steve to arrive- compared to the regular ten. He didn't even bother knocking, just came barding in. 

"Nancy? Nancy!" He called out. 

Nancy slowly made her way to the door. As soon as Steve laid eyes on her, he rushed to her. His hands went to her shoulders, gentle and supportive. 

"W-What's wrong, Nance? What happened?" 

“Steve... We need to talk.” Nancy said faintly. She could feel her stomach sinking. Taking his hand into her own, she led him into the living room before sitting him down on the couch. 

"Nancy, C'mon, talk to me please." Steve said. His eyes were desperately searching her face

“I umm… Well, I’m…”

“Just- What's wrong?" Steve asked. He was trying to be gentle, but that's not what Nancy needed. Letting go of his hand, she felt her chest cave in.

“I-I think I’m pregnant,” She blurted out.

Steve's jaw dropped and he shook his head, an incredulous look on his face. 

" _ What?  _ Y-You THINK you’re pregnant? Wh-wh-what the fuck does that mean?" Steve could feel his throat tightening. What now?

Nancy forced herself to look at him. Maybe she shouldn't have told him. Maybe she should have just dealt with this on her own. 

"Have you taken a test?" 

Nancy nodded glumly. 

“A-And what did it say?” He demanded, his expression growing more and more stormy by the second. Nancy hadn't ever seen him like this- with such a mix of fear and hurt and anger and sadness. Not even when that  _ creature _ came into Joyce's house.

“I-It said I was pregnant,” Nancy softly whispered, wanting so badly to look down at her feet but her gaze was held by Steve's laser focus. 

“I..." Steve shook his head for a moment in disbelief. "I thought you were on the pill?" 

“I was- I am, it- it must have failed,” she muttered, her voice hoarse.

Steve stood up now, breathing hard. Nancy could tell he wanted to hit something. Wanted to break a window or plate. She could tell because she felt the same way. 

Hot, unwelcome tears welled up in Nancy's eyes and began to spill down her cheeks. She’d been so fucking happy at first. Content in what the two of them shared. But now, she was sure he’d abandon her and leave her to rot in her own misery, all because she messed up taking her birth control.

“Birth control, some fucking good that did us! We are so fucked. Oh, God...” Steve rambled, his hands running through his hair as he looked up to the ceiling. 

_ We. _ An incredibly simple word- but it was one that made Nancy feel incomprehensibly better. Maybe he wouldn't leave. Maybe... Maybe this wasn't a fight to be fought alone.

Nancy's lip quivered and her nose turned red. She had hoped maybe Steve would come to her rescue, tell her everything was going to be ok, but that'd be stupid. There wasn't any easy solution. 

“Stupid fucking idiot!” He hissed, eyes clenching shut. 

That did it. The sob that Nancy had been holding in ripped free of her chest.

“I’m sorry, ok! I didn’t mean it! P-Please don’t hate me!” She wailed, which caught her Steve's attention immediately. He turned back around, his mouth agape and a horrified look in his eye. 

“What? Nance, no!” He shook his head frantically, hair falling before his eyes as he strode over to her. He took her by the hand, coaxing her to her feet before pressing her head to his chest.

“Hey, hey! Nance, sweetie, I meant  _ I’M _ the fucking idiot, for not thinking about this sooner, for-for not thinking this could happen, f-for not protecting you,” He said in a somewhat gruff but gentle tone. He leaned back slightly and lifted her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. 

“This is not your fault,” he said with earnest. “I should never have put you through this,” he implored.

Nancy felt some of the tension of the past week drain from her muscles and a comforting warmth flood her heart, then the rest of her body. 

“It’s not your fault either,” she sniffed, trying to subtly wipe some of her tears from her cheeks.

"Look... We can still fix this, okay? This is- It's normal. Everyone messes up sometimes... Nothing is set in stone just yet."

Nancy bit her lip. She felt like she’d been flooded with far too much emotion and information already today. 

Steve made it sound so simple, but could it really be that easy? How would that feel? What would it cost- both financially, physically, and emotionally? Was the alternative any better, or was it far worse? She didn’t even know anymore. 

“Hey, just try and trust me. I..." Steve paused a moment. He let her go from their embrace, still remaining close to her though. "What do  _ you _ want to do?" 

Nancy's eyes grew wide again. "Not this... Not now, I mean." She looked down to the carpet below for a moment. She was only sixteen. Having a baby was almost totally out of the picture... What would her family think? What would her classmates think? How would she even provide for a kid? "I'm just not ready." 

Steve went silent for a moment, only to pull her into another hug. He took a deep breath, his chest rising against Nancy's cheek. "You don't have to be." 

Gently, he put a hand in her hair. Nancy felt her bottom lip quiver. He was far too good to her. She didn't deserve him. 

"Just... How about you and I put a movie on? I'll make some hot cocoa with cinnamon," Nancy smiled just a bit. She always added cinnamon to her drinks. "and we can just try and relax for a moment." 

"Okay," Nancy said breathlessly, pulling away from Steve's embrace as she looked up to him. Nancy allowed for Steve to cup her cheek, his thumb carefully tracing over her cheekbone. 

"I love you, Nance." 

"I know." 

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea what I was going for with this story tbh. But I kinda like how it turned out. It's not totally incomprehensible in terms of it happening, and I think that's kinda charming. 
> 
> Feel free to give me your thoughts, though. 
> 
> Also- I hope you have a fantastic day


End file.
